


Educational Materials

by the_last_dillards



Series: The X(eno)-Philes [2]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Cardassian Anatomy, Cardassian Culture, Cardassian style sex, Crack Treated Seriously, Eating out, Humor, Julian's academy days, M/M, Scent Kink, Xenophilia, ajanlingus, introducing Slock the safe sex Vulcan :)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:13:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22214620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_last_dillards/pseuds/the_last_dillards
Summary: Bored on the way to a conference, Julian edits a video of him and Garak for amusement and...academic purposes. Remember kids, it’s not a sex tape if it’s educational.
Relationships: Julian Bashir/Elim Garak
Series: The X(eno)-Philes [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1893553
Comments: 47
Kudos: 88





	Educational Materials

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BonusMeme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BonusMeme/gifts).



> Written for the amazing [BonusMeme](https://bonus-meme.tumblr.com/) :)
> 
> Unbeta'd so all spelling mistakes and weird sentences are my own. Feel free to lemme know if you find anything.
> 
> Anatomy is based off Tinsnip’s Speculative Cardassian Xenobiology found here: <https://archiveofourown.org/works/1719479>  
> Apologies to any readers for whom prUt means other things in their mother tongue. Feel free to dm me on tumblr for a way to circumvent that issue when reading garashir fics ;)
> 
>  **Note as of August 20th:** This work is currently undergoing revision—smoothing over wording, spelling, and clunky parts. It is at this point about 2/3 done and updated accordingly.

Julian pushed back from his desk, giving a long stretch, back arched and arms tensed high above his head.

If there was one thing to be said about holovideo editing, it was time consuming. Kudos to those that did it professionally or for fun because he could never manage the tedium of it. But that was alright. This holoproject was a one time deal, and he certainly had the time for it right now.

The trip to Tholius was a long one, from one edge of the Federation border to the other. The travel would be worth it though for the conference he was about to attend.

It had been an honour to be chosen.

Every couple of decades, the major powers of the alpha and beta quadrants put aside all distrust and dislike to hold an event featuring the top minds of the medical field. There they discussed new theories, discoveries, and concerns in a rare show of mutualism.

Julian had been absolutely enthused when he had found out he’d been invited to attend. Of course, then he’d found out where it was being held.

Tholius was more than a week away at warp seven. Add that to two weeks of panels, lectures, discussions, Q&A, and an awful meet and greet luncheon, and he would be gone for just over a month.

A full month away from Garak, his lover, where for most of that time, they’d be far enough apart that their only communications could be through recorded messages. Recorded messages that Garak was determined to keep clean and proper. (At least from his end of things.)

That was a long time for Julian Bashir to live without sex.

Sure, he could masturbate. But from previous experiences on long missions and attending other conferences, that got...boring quickly. Even with the toy he usually brought and the full range of his very vivid imagination, it just wasn’t enough after a few days.

And so, before Julian had left, he’d made a plea which Garak had immediately rejected. It took some cajoling and naked pouting to change his mind, but in the end, Julian got what he wanted.

A few sexy holovideos of them together was all he needed to help carry him over, and it was what he would bring. That should’ve been the end of it.

But then Dr Mizan, notorious expert in exobiology and interspecies reproduction, had contacted him.

The request was simple enough. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Deep Space Nine was a galactic crossroads with higher than usual species diversity, after all. Mizan certainly wasn’t the first or last to ask Julian to help search out participants for research.

All Julian needed to do was ask around for anyone willing to provide live demonstrations or to donate a recording. At the conference on Tholius, he would meet up with Mizan and pass the data and contact details along. Nothing to it.

So maybe Julian had made a few jokes and teasing suggestions that he and Garak might volunteer for the study. And maybe he had suggested sending one of their own recordings along in jest.

Evidently, Garak hadn’t found the same humour in it because not long after, he was asking for the datarods containing their, ahem, _special recordings_ back until after the conference.

Julian lost a great deal for his mistake of joking around about Garak’s privacy to him. All their holos of spy roleplays, Garak in lingerie, foot massages, and other exciting misadventures were reluctantly returned to Garak’s safe hands.

In the end, he was left with one relatively innocent—by their standards—recording that could prove very little to anyone other than what was already widely known on the station. It was a peace offering that Julian wouldn’t be lackadaisical in his management of something that Garak considered rather personal. 

Julian had already watched it at least a dozen times on this trip. And it was good. There was no doubt about it. 

But, well, a man needed some variety. And so here he was, having just finished making something that would either get him put in the doghouse for a month or a particularly aggressive fucking once Garak saw it. Maybe both. 

Julian pressed play on his creation.

A backdrop of indiscriminate stars panned over the viewer and Julian’s own voice, recorded in his best imitation of a holo-doc narrator, came over the audio. It was underscored by a background of intense classical music from Earth.

_“Life. It penetrates the cosmos and seeds the stars. For billions of years, it has metamorphosed the very universe around it; Trillions of trillions of unique species coming into being and redesigning their worlds. But curiously enough, where there has evolved life, there has evolved a common mechanism of continuing it. It forms the very foundations of nearly every complex species known, from the ever logical Vulcan to most honour bound Klingon. And that driving force which ties us all together, is sex.”_

Julian was quite proud at having come up with that intro. If he was going to make his sex tape into a sexy documentary, the least he could do was go full out.

The idea of starring in such a film was actually rather appealing to him. So maybe his comments about performing together for a study were only partly in jest. He knew Garak would never agree to such a thing. But honestly, the idea of getting fucked within an inch of his life while researchers watched passively, taking notes, was a more than slightly appealing one.

Back at Starfleet Academy, Julian had been part of a group colloquially known as the Xeno Sex Club. It wasn’t an official campus organization or Starfleet sanctioned by any means, but the tradition was as old as the Federation itself.

Meetings for the Club were usually brunches, held at a diner a short walk from campus called The Nebula. The president at the time, a Vulcan called Slock whom in Cadet Bashir’s experience was actually the kinkiest being to have ever existed, would hand out fliers from intrepid scientists, on the prowl for new research subjects.

The Academy was a plentiful hunting ground for people like Dr Mizan, never a shortage of willing flesh. Julian had participated in more than a few of these studies in his time and he got the impression that Mizan knew this. 

His focus was brought back to the video just in time to see stock holos of Cardassia and Earth laid out side by side and to hear the phrase, _“and these mating practices exemplify, as the Vulcans would say, infinite diversity in infinite combinations.”_

(Okay, so maybe he had stolen that use of the phrase from Slock, who had an uncanny ability to make any logical Vulcan maxim about sex.)

The string music faded and was replaced by the low background sounds of a forest to cut the silence. A shot of Garak filled the frame, reading quietly from a padd.

The real show was about to begin.

The narration spoke, _“A Cardassian male sits in his lair after a long day of securing food and territory.”_

A low instrumental cue chimed and the focused switched.

Onscreen, an image of Julian crept onto the scene, evidently in a flirtatious mood. He slunk his way to the opposite side of the bed and cautiously sat on the edge.

_“An intruder enters. This young male clearly has sex on the mind. The Cardassian, however, appears uninterested in what the Human has to offer and ignores him.”_

And he did ignore. Garak could be very good at that.

From the present, Julian knew that this had been filmed the evening after they’d had a minor incident during lunch.

Incident referring to a full mug of raktajino accidentally spilled on Garak’s newly made, expensive Andorian wool tunic. It had been an _accident_.

Yes, Julian knew Garak had worked hard on it and was proud of the finished product. But how was he to know there’d been a puddle on the floor, left there by the Bajoran family with small children that had had their table before them?

Regardless, it had put Garak in quite the mood. He’d said some sharp words, gotten up to change, and never returned. And now, Julian had come to him hoping to smooth things out as he always did when words only seemed to make things worse.

It was Garak who had decided to record them. (And apparently anticipated Julian’s scheme to get back in his good graces.)

Julian hadn’t even known the camera was there at first, especially since Garak had certainly never initiated filming them together before.

Much later on when asked, Garak had claimed that he’d done it out of a desire to prove what an insatiable pest Julian was. _“A more accurate representation of their relationship”_ in his words. 

Still, it was progress.

In their early attempts at filming themselves, Garak had been overly conscious of the camera’s presence. It didn’t matter whether they kept it out in the open or hid it so that the watching lens wasn’t so obvious. Having it there made Garak nervous. His ability to perform had been affected on more than one occasion.

Julian had told Garak that if it was too much for him, they didn’t really need to it. But Garak had insisted. He knew it was something Julian enjoyed, being watched and able to look back at their escapades every now and then, and so they kept at it till Garak was comfortable.

Practice, practice, practice as it went.

In this particular recording of them, the holocam was positioned on a corner table to get an angled shot from the foot of the bed. 

The Julian onscreen sighed loudly as he settled in, legs crossed at the ankles and hands folded in his lap. He glanced over at Garak several times.

Garak still didn’t acknowledge him.

After chewing his lips red in thought, Julian opened his mouth to say something. The words were quiet and conciliatory in nature, but their content was unintelligible, the individuality of the sounds lost.

It was early on in Julian’s reworking of the video that he had determined talk would only get in the way of the nature documentary theme. Especially when it would overlap with his narration.

What was being said wasn’t important anyway. The tones and inflections were preserved, just not the words, and that’s all that a viewer would need to know.

Garak grunted noncommittally and flicked his padd to scroll down. 

Well, that clearly wouldn’t do.

Julian needed attention. He needed a _reaction._

He uncrossed his legs, yawned, and made a show of stretching his arms up and letting them drift down, oh so slowly, oh so casually…

Garak spoke firmly, never looking up.

Julian dejectedly brought his limbs back in.

_“An attempt is made to get the other’s attention, but moves to achieve physical contact are quickly rebuffed. This pair have courted and mated before, but past successes are no indication of future performance.”_

Julian said something again, softly, eyes big and brows pulled together, and Garak finally looked up.

His return was a pointed barb.

Julian rolled his eyes and looked away, gaze tracking around the room before finally focusing in on the camera. A smile threatened to break over his face but he quickly quashed it, face crunched into a tightening of lip and jaw muscle. Feeling bolstered, Julian pulled off his uniform jacket and undershirt, tossing them onto the floor.

_“This young male, however, is not easily dissuaded.”_

He struck a pose, leg pulled up and elbow rested on a bent knee. The greatest key to being sexy was to feel sexy, and Julian was putting on his best tricks.

He flickered out his tongue to wet his bottom lip before pulling into a lazy grin, giving Garak a slow once over with his most sultry gaze. A subtle lean backwards helped give a better view of the expanse of his throat, freshly unmarked, to tempt Garak into marking it all over again.

_“The courting male positions himself to show off the length of his neck. For reasons unknown, a strong correlation exists between neck length and perceived physical attractiveness and virility among Cardassians. Among Humans the neck tends to remain an appreciated though unfocused upon asset. This male, however, has an awareness on how to best entice his mate. Presenting a rather elegant example for his species, the Cardassian should be excited by the display. He, however, remains unimpressed.”_

Garak looked him over and gave an indifferent hum..

Julian deflated, looking exasperated.

_“There’s no reason to reject such a virile young male but even Cardassians, renown for their incredible sex drive, lose vigor with age.”_

Julian lolled his head to the side, smile gone, before his eyes found the holocam again. There was a long moment of frustrated glaring before a sudden realization seemed to hit him.

So Garak had decided that this was going to be one of _those_ days.

Julian turned back, needy veneer replaced with one of annoyance, and said something cocky, something rude.

 _That_ got Garak’s attention. He set his padd aside before turning to volley back, just as incendiary. And thus began a heated back and forth.

_“In many species, displays of aggression and courtship can be remarkably similar and perhaps one in the same. Cardassians are no different. Shows of overconfidence, arrogance, and attempts to incite conflict are put on to arouse a response. This Human has been successful in following the Cardassian model and his potential mate responds back in kind, with hostility and posturing to make himself physically appear larger.”_

And Garak _was_ puffing himself up, whether consciously or not.

His ridges had begun to engorge with blood, darkening, and he sat tall with shoulders squared as he argued vehemently.

Julian paused the video. This was just about where the good part would start and he needed to be ready.

He got up to replicate a bottle of lube and unfastened his trousers, pulling out his half hard cock as he sat back down. The lube was cold as he dribbled it onto his hand, and he had to give it a few seconds to warm up before giving his cock a stroke and letting the video resume.

_“In this instance, however, neither seeks violence but rather to reaffirm a social relationship.”_

Trying to be physically intimidating only made Garak the perfect target. Julian pounced.

Hands on shoulders, Garak went down. A short wrestling match ensued that ended with Julian sitting astride Garak’s hips, triumphant. From the camera’s angle, the next couple minutes mostly consisted of a shot of his own arse (and it was a rather nice arse) as he bent at the waist to nip and mouth along the Garak’s neck.

Firm hands came up to grab at Julian’s hips, sliding down to feel up his arse while a low hissing filled the room.

_“He works to excite his partner by biting, licking, and sucking on the scale ridges that run along a Cardassian’s shoulders and neck. Of these, the kinat’hU, the third scale down on the neckridge, is the most sensitive. It is common practice for these particular scales to be highlighted with blue cosmetics, advertising availability.”_

Back in his quarters, Julian slid a lazy hand up and down his cock. He rubbed a thumb around the head as he reimagined that moment, writhing Cardassian hissing beneath him.

There was indeed something pleasing about your sinking teeth into a neckridge.

Sinewy cords of cartilage ran beneath them, giving a perfect purchase upon which to latch. And then to feel them _swell_ , normally inverted divots reversed and plumped, surprisingly smooth and soft. It was a sensation that enticed you to keep at it, moving on down the line to bite down hard and then suckle some more. 

A muscle reflexed, pulling Garak’s foot to twitch involuntarily.

Julian watched, transfixed on those little tremors in his lover’s body, some nearly imperceptible to the unaugmented eye and most unrecognizable in the heat of the moment, only available to the most attentive of voyeurs.

His own hands, just out of sight, soon had Garak’s pants open and were working to push them down. But pulling them all the way off would require some movement on his own part. Past experience told him that Garak would take advantage of any and all opportunities to have the upper hand if he dismounted, so Julian maneuvered himself around quickly, now straddling the Cardassian in reverse.

The movement jostled Garak’s hands from his behind, but the Cardassian wasted no time in reoccupying them. One snaked between Julian’s legs to grab hard at the erection there, causing him to jolt and squirm, and the other stroked over his thigh.

He’d had to fight a strong urge to start humping into Garak’s fist. It would’ve given the Cardassian far too much satisfaction.

Julian’s retaliation was quick coming.

He paused from his task to shuffle back, which the Julian of present now could see unintentionally put his arse awkwardly close to Garak’s face. The bastard stuck his tongue out in response, having himself some fun by trying to reach Julian’s behind with it without moving his head. 

But he quickly pulled it in as just then Julian bent to lick a flat, firm stroke across the chuva below him.

_“The chu’en, consisting of the chufa, chula, and chuva are a trio of vestigial sensory organs, notably rather spoon-like in appearance, that lay midline on the torso. They are believed to have once been able to sense electrostatic movement and even today remain sensitive to direct contact. Of these, the chuva, the lowest of the chu’en and found just over the cloaca, is the most sensitive and can be used to elicit sexual arousal.”_

Garak swore and shuddered uncontrollably. 

Julian took the opportunity to fully remove his trousers and tossed the garment away before flipping himself around to slide down between Garak’s legs. 

_“They also serve a cultural significance. In the ancient Hebitian religion and in some regions of Cardassia Prime still today, they are regarded as something analogous to the Chakras found in the Human religion of Hinduism. Each has a set of attributes associated with its energy and stimulation. It may come as no surprise that sexuality and reproduction are two traits strongly associated with the chuva.”_

Here, Garak decided to be cooperative. 

He recomposed himself somewhat and shifted his legs to accommodate Julian. It wasn’t a perfect view for the camera, one of Garak’s thighs in the way, but Julian could still see the movements of his own head as he dipped down to taste the ajan. 

_“Cloacal stimulation through oral contact is an action with multiple benefits. Most obviously, the Human will be able to stimulate the other male into eversion. But evolutionarily, there is an additional benefit to the Cardassian.”_

The video gave him more than enough to help recreate the memory as Julian touched himself. A phantom taste of sweet, slick, warm fluids over his tongue and mouth and chin. That distinct scent of heavy musk between Garak’s thighs filled his nose at every breath… 

_“On either side of the cloaca and down the inner thighs are scent glands. There are several on his body, most notably on the wrists and chin, but this set produces an extra chemical: sex pheromones. In more ancient times when weather patterns fueled a regular mating season, the glands would produce an excess of this chemical to help draw in a mate. Both partners would be left with a scent mark as a warning to others that they are claimed. Even today, this feature is used to help confirm fidelity and abstinence in the strict sexual standards of modern Cardassia.”_

Julian’s mouth began to water just thinking about it. 

He didn’t need memory or imagination to help recreate the sounds of Garak’s breathy hissing and sighs. The languorous way he stretched out, head thrown back and hands urging Julian in closer. 

Garak’s body drew in heat from the environment. Julian could always tell when he had been basking recently because the inside of him was _hot_. He could stick his tongue into his partner’s ajan as far as it would go and let it scald him, and he would only press on closer, nose digging into bone, licking into that softness and breathing in the heady air, fingers squeezing tight the plush, scaled thighs around him. 

_“Oral sex serves as an extra measure of claiming. Through this act, the Human will become saturated with the other male’s scent and, the face being an area typically unencumbered with suppressive fabric, therefore heavily marked by his mate. It should be noted that these pheromones typically only have sway on Cardassians and become imperceptible and unreadable to most other species a few minutes after application. They have no effect on the ordinary human, although this one has become conditioned to react to the scent and works to get his fill gladly.”_

There would be that moment when he found the prUt, could just touch the tip of it. Then he would lure it out, a heavy slide into the groove of his tongue, following along to find a new home in his mouth, and Julian would swallow it all down gratefully. Suckle at it, feeling the smoothness and delicacy of his cock as compared to the Human variety, and Garak would gasp and pant and beg for more all the way. 

_“Among Cardassians, the act remains taboo. As a culture that prizes subtlety and family lineage, oral stimulation of the ajan challenges those concepts. It is, after all, hard to hide one’s activities with scent markings left out in the open. Among more conservative minded individuals, the fear also exists that since it can be used to bring one to orgasm, the idea of child producing forms of sex may become less desirable. The Human view of the act, however, remains generally positive.”_

Soon Garak was grasping desperately at his hair. 

Julian stroked his hands along the thighs framing his head then lifted up to reveal a fat prUt sliding out of his mouth, glistening with fluids. He sat up and licked his lips clean, a heady enjoyment in his eyes, before wiping off the rest of the slick from his chin with the back of a hand. 

Any antagonistic foreplay was long behind them by now. They both finished undressing in quick succession, Garak taking the time to fold both of their sets of clothing and setting them neatly to the side while Julian dug out lube from a bedside drawer. 

Once he found it, he took up a wide stance next to the bed, setting one foot on it and tilting his hips back for easier access. He had completely forgotten about the camera by this point but somehow managed to find just that perfect angle to give it a full view of everything going on back there. And goddamn, did he put on a good show. 

A single slicked finger moved back to circle at his hole, pressing and testing the give of the muscle before slowly pushing in. 

And here, Julian paused the video again. 

With great reluctance, he took his hand off his cock and wiped the excess lube on a tissue, before shucking his pants all the way off. It was a few feet to the bed where he took up a similar stance to that on the video. 

It had only been about a week since he’d last had anything up there, but damn, his hole seemed to be already getting tighter. Julian rubbed slick fingers along the outer ring of muscle, relaxing it before allowing a finger to slide in. Soon an index finger joined it. 

As he began scissoring them, his mind wandered towards how he’d be when he got back. 

A full month without sex, even if he did regularly use his fingers and the toy he’d brought, was sure to cost him some level of flexibility and looseness. And Garak at his base was so much thicker than anything he had brought along. Ah well. They would just have to reacquaint themselves frequently. 

Julian gave a voice command for the video to start again.

As the onscreen version of himself was pushing in another finger, Garak began making his way over, crawling across the bed on hands and knees. And wasn’t that a sight to see?

He reached Julian and sat up to kiss him deeply, a hand migrating towards his ajan. Julian’s own body blocked the view but then the hand returned, wet and shining with slick, and he moved to add a digit of his own. 

_“Humans are widely considered a curiously sexually variable species. They are capable of deriving pleasure from an exceedingly large number of acts, including penetration of the anus. It should be noted that the anus is not synonymous to the cloaca and is not an organ designed for sexual penetration, so therefore does not take it easily. This is solved through thorough stretching and lubrication prior to coitus, an act which in and of itself can be enjoyable to the recipient. These precautions are vital in this type of sex as the rectum wall is significantly thinner than that of the vagina or cloaca. Tears are a painful and dangerous affair.”_

Julian remembered this. Outside the camera’s perspective, their fronts brushed together, cock sliding slickly along prUt as they pushed closer together. 

A clawed hand, carefully trimmed, ran through his hair as they traded sloppy kisses, nails raking over skin with just enough force to give Julian a tingle down his spine. His head was pulled to the side, breaking apart their kiss-swollen lips, and Garak began laving his neck with a series of kisses and nips.

Ever so briefly Garak looked directly into the camera. It was the only time he directly acknowledged it was there. 

Back in his quarters, Julian had already seen this part a thousand times, but that moment of eye contact managed to get him all randied up every time. The feeling that Garak was looking directly at him, watching, knew exactly what he was doing, even now, and toying with him. Gods, it was hot. 

Julian fisted his erection and felt inside of himself to find that helpful gland before accidentally glancing against it hard and shuddering. He pulled out his fingers to give himself a quick rest—it wouldn’t do to get too excited too quickly—and to reapply lubricant before pushing three back in. 

On screen, those eyes narrowed mischievously, that bastard, and Garak bit down hard just as he gave his partner’s prostate a firm rub. Julian’s entire body jolted as if electrified, and he made a surprised yelp. 

But then Garak had moved on from his neck and was nosing a bit lower, hidden by his partner’s torso. Julian gripped at his shoulder ridges for balance. Garak’s hand in his hair gave a parting tug and followed him down, stroking greedily along soft skin until it reached his arse where it took a buttock in hand and kneaded roughly before stretching it to the side and exposing Julian in all his glory, three fingers full. 

Just out of view, Garak’s hot mouth lapped and sucked at his nipples. 

He’d always found them a strange and amusing feature as compared to his own breastless anatomy and made a point to touch them even in nonsexual situations. He took some great pleasure in pinching them and watching the skin shift and constrict into little peaks. 

But soon Garak moved on to another one his favorite Human curiosities. The muscles in Julian’s back shifted as he lifted an arm to allow the press of Garak’s face into his armpit. 

_“Scent is a vital part of Cardassian life and sexuality. While on modern Cardassia it’s less important than lineage and social standing, it still plays a vital role in courting as a key indicator of one’s long term health. However, recent and increasingly popular trends involve the wearing of perfumes over glands to help mask this information. These perfumes doubly serve as an indicator of social standing, with certain scents being more difficult to make and therefore only available to wealthy families.”_

Grooming habits had been one change his relationship with Garak had prompted. While previously he had made a habit of shaving off all his chest and pit hair and trimming his bush, he had conceded on the point of allowing itchy underarm hair to grow. Julian had even agreed to refrain from using antiperspirants on days off, much to Miles’ displeasure. 

Cardassians were nothing if not an olfactory people and Garak took great joy in luxuriating in his scent while surreptitiously marking him with his own. 

Garak breathed in deeply several times. Upon exhale, he released a strange rumble that reverberated throughout his entire chest and that Julian loved to feel on his back while they fucked or cuddled up together after. 

The hand Garak had on his rump released its hold to grab at Julian’s wrist instead and pulled his fingers out with careful gentleness, only to replace them seconds later with his own. Julian groaned as those they wormed their way in, thicker than the set they were filling in for. 

And, of course, it took no time at all for them to find that gland inside him and tease at it till his hands scrambled wildly along Garak’s back for a hold, and he was whimpering pathetically. 

Garak had only grinned in response, the feel of his mouth shifting into a sharkish smile beneath his underarm. A few ticklish licks into the hair there, and Julian had had enough torment. 

He slapped lightly at the forearm Garak had wrapped around him and the Cardassian took the hint. 

Garak pulled his hand away, awkwardly holding his arm and clearly not wanting to touch anything with his soiled fingers. Julian’s hole was its own kind of filthy, puckered and winking obscenely at camera in the absence of anything to fill it. 

He wasn’t as uptight about the sheets. He crawled onto the bed, lubey handprints and smears on the covers be damned, and attempted to position himself tidily in the middle. 

Garak apparently had no qualms, however, with wrapping both his hands (one being rather unpleasantly sticky) around Julian’s ankles. 

Julian’s knees were pulled swiftly out from under him, hips hitting the mattress, and he was dragged back towards the edge. Garak sat him up and readjusted him like a doll onto knees and forearms with a perfect perpendicularity to the holocam.

Clearly, Garak hadn’t forgotten about the device in the corner. 

This was the moment. 

Julian watched, utterly enraptured. Garak was lining himself up, prUt hard and swollen and glistening from the slick. 

And what a perfect organ it was. A tapered head for easy entry and then a gradual thickening to something much larger than any human cock. Perfect to fill and stretch him beyond what he might be comfortable with in a more familiar shape. 

And stars, wasn’t it just a perfect match that the most sensitive part would be the base, where Garak could push in all the way, bottom out and then just grind on him while his muscles would clench and twitch, and then Garak would…. 

Well, he was getting ahead of himself. 

Garak hadn’t even begun that slow slide in yet on the holo, content to tease Julian with just the tip. 

And besides, Julian had had a thought along with his musings. Never a good thing when that happened. 

The thought was this: If Slock could see them now, he’d be very disappointed. 

Condoms, the Vulcan had drilled into his brain, were a vital part of sex. Honestly, it left Julian feeling a bit guilty every time he forewent one. 

Back in Xeno Sex Club, there had been biannual presentations on STDs and monthly reminders sent to members’ padds about the dangers of HPV, gonorrhea, VPV, and any number of strange as yet unidentified fungi and microorganisms that loved to travel by way of exchanged sexual fluids. 

(There were also regular reminders on BDSM protocol, resources for victims of abuse, locations of relationship counselors, and the importance of communication prior to, during, and after intercourse with any species.) 

But that’s what made Slock such a great Club leader. He cared about them all in his Vulcan way, both in and out of bed. He was the go-to guy on campus for relationship advice, first times of anything, and threeways. 

It was unfortunate for Julian that Slock had also been a year above him and so had graduated out just before his senior year at the Academy. The new president wasn’t terrible and struggled hard to fill the shoes of his predecessor but simply couldn’t live up to the Slock legacy. 

Mostly Julian just felt bad for the guy because poor Wesley really did try. 

It was also worth noting that in the same year, Julian had gotten his first venereal disease; Some alien virus that gave him an ugly rash on his penis and made both erections and urination horribly painful. 

But that was enough thinking of that. 

Julian was trying to get off right now, not think about the good ‘ol days and his depressing three month stint of enforced celibacy. This progression of thoughts was making him start to go soft anyhow. 

At least he was plenty stretched by now. Julian hadn’t stopped fingering himself all the while. 

He pulled them out before commanding the holovid to pause. His stray thoughts hadn’t stopped the progression of time, and he had been completely distracted to the point of not even noticing when the moment of coupling had occurred. 

Julian went to his suitcase and grabbed out a dildo. It was a good sized piece, designed after a sadly very Human shaped phallus. 

He spent the next few minutes feeling awkward and chilled as he attempted to figure out the best position to watch his masterpiece while pleasuring himself. Eventually, he came to a final arrangement on the bed, sprawled out on his back with legs splayed wide to the holoscreen.

The computer rewound the video back upon dictation. 

He watched it as it went, lubing up the toy and sliding it home meanwhile. 

Their bodies’ movements reversed with grinding pelvises and hands on hips looking rather much the same as when played forwards. But then the video seemed to show Garak slowly sliding out, his hand coming up at the very last second to help pull that last inch out. 

It was here that Julian had it start from.

And then suddenly they were moving forward in time again. Garak pushed in, and Julian keened, _loudly._

That was one of the downfalls of these recordings. He got to hear every single embarrassing moan and squeak that he could make, and Garak teased him into them mercilessly. And while the approach was indeed very sexy, it had taken a lot of watching and trying and failing to jerk off on lonely nights before Julian could hold a stiffy without it deflating from the shame of it all. 

Soon, Julian was pushing back into the Garak, trying to encourage thrusting.

Garak had stalled after that initial push to give him time to adjust. But now he rumbled threateningly, grabbing onto Julian’s hips to still them before beginning to undulate his hips in movements foreign to Human sexuality. 

_“Cardassians are somewhat unique in their natural repertoire of mid coitus movements. Instead of continual thrusting or a single penetration and immediate ejaculation, he moves his hips in rubbing motion. This is meant to stimulate the irllun, a highly sensitive ring around the base of the phallus. Humans, however, tend to prefer the much more common thrusting maneuver. And this Cardassian’s refusal to do so frustrates his mate to no end.”_

Garak could be a real bastard sometimes. 

Most often, he worked to pleasure them both, thrusting and then grinding in a single movement unique to their purposes, over and over to bring them both off. It took a certain amount of carefulness and couldn’t be managed too fast or too aggressively, but it was their go-to method when they had the time and energy. 

There were even times when Garak was feeling particularly generous, and he’d fuck Julian silly in the human way.

And then there were some days when the damned lizard was just in some sort of mood. 

Julian pumped the toy in and out of himself as he coaxed his cock back into full arousal. He had tried replicating the swyving motion before that Garak preferred and perfected maddening him with, but without the heavy, solid weight and press of hips against him, holding him down to the mattress, it just wasn’t the same. 

And besides, he had learned it wasn’t a very good idea anyhow after the constant pushing motion had caused him to accidentally push the entire thing into his arsehole and lose it. The incident had had to be resolved with an unconventional and embarrassing use of the transporter beam. 

Slock had always warned them to only use toys with flared bases. Only bad things could happen when one forgot his teachings.

Julian watched himself struggle a bit, trying to shove his hips back again to help give a hint but Garak refused anything of the sort. Instead, he only pressed in harder. And when Julian finally gave up and dubiously balanced their weights onto one arm so he could bring the other back in an attempt to touch himself, the tyrant took both his hands and pinned them on the bed, lacing their fingers tightly together. 

_“Sex and relationships with Cardassians are hardly ever a continuously egalitarian affair. They involve a great deal of posturing and minor power struggles as both partners attempt to prove themselves a worthy opponent and therefore a worthy mate.”_

Worst of all, the swyving motions and Garak’s current domineering attitude weren’t unpleasant to Julian at all. Oh no, they only served to titillate and inflame him even more. 

This wasn’t the first time Julian had found himself in such a position under his lover, but this recording was the first time he had seen it as a voyeur. It was a very different experience being able to fondle himself as he pleased while watching the demonstration Garak put on. Julian was made helpless, powerless under him as the Cardassian took him on all fours and forced out desperate moans all the while. 

There was something intensely intoxicating about that; The total foreignness that was sex with a Cardassian. There was the sheer stretch of his cock, the visual of having an alien writhing furiously on top of him, the foreign noises he made... 

_“While Human cultures typically allow for and even encourage any natural vociferations during sex, Cardassian ritual strictly forbids it. Noise other than total silence, allowing only for the sound of heavy breathing if kept to an acceptable volume, are generally considered unseemly and rude. This is likely due to the overall unsubtle nature of such a display, both a potentially damning indicator of what activities are taking place and a show of undisguised enjoyment of the proceedings. This Cardassian, however, seems unable to control himself and makes an unseemly display.”_

Oh yes, Garak wasn’t without his own vocalizations. There were the usual hisses of course, but he would also rattle and rumble and grunt in ways that he usually tried to restrain. 

Days like this though, he made absolutely no attempt to repress the sounds. 

Eventually, Julian capitulated to Garak’s stubborn ways. He pressed back against him, doing his best to follow his lead. 

His mouth hung open in a pant as they swayed. It was maddening to continually have his prostate rubbed gently against but with no ability to do anything more for it. Instead, he dug his hands deeper into the bedspread, fingers twisting into the fabric and tightening around Garak’s as his breath shuddered and jumped and his toes curled at the sensation. 

He was only somewhat appeased by the biting kisses Garak left along the yoke of his shoulders. Each one left an indentation of teeth that would no doubt purple over sooner than later, and Garak made a point to pause his ministrations to rub his chin over each, doubly marking him. 

By the time he had made it across Julian’s shoulders a second time, his royal highness had evidently grown bored of his prisoner’s resignation to his fate. Garak released both his hands and finally, _finally_ acquiesced. 

But they didn’t go where Julian needed them right away. No, because of course Garak had to be difficult and evasive about everything. 

His hands trailed lazily up Julian’s arms and over his shoulders, feeling the shifting bone and muscle there. They traveled towards his front and Garak began to sit up with the movements, but instead of continuing down, both hands paused to fiddle some more with his nipples.

Julian was getting restless.

He was not going to put up with any more lollygagging, dammit!

But he wasn’t in a very good position to do anything about it, while Garak was pinching a nub with each hand. 

So Julian played his part, moaning and whining. If he refused and stayed stalwart to Garak’s attentions, that would just make him more fixated on the area, creating a new target for the Cardassian to pester him with. 

Finally, Garak grew bored and released him. He ran his hands over Julian’s ribs and then let them glide lower.

And there was his moment.

Julian reared up forcefully, the surprise and strength of the action causing Garak to fall backwards. 

Looking back, it was perhaps not the smartest move. There easily could’ve been serious damage to either one of them, and in the aftermath, the sudden pull of Garak’s so called _bloom_ from out of his backside _had_ stung a little. 

But a man had to do what a man had to do. 

And Julian had decided that he would much rather take back some control and have Garak on his back, thank you. Said maneuver had also put Garak in the very convenient for Julian position of lying with his head and shoulders awkwardly off the end of the bed. 

Garak had barely begun to sit up when Julian turned himself around, swung a leg over his hips, and promptly sunk himself down onto his prUt. 

Julian let out a soft moan of relief as he bottomed out, taking his cock in hand. 

Garak could do no more than hiss in response. His head fell back, spine curving downwards as he grabbed desperately at the bedcovers. 

_“The Human turns the tables on his partner, taking control of the situation. This position is nearly impossible between two Cardassians, their sexual organs being positioned towards the anterior of the body, and so it catches him off guard. In fact, the Cardassian repertoire of penetrative sex positions is almost always one. An arrangement which, while nameless in Kardasi, is most similar to what Federationers refer to as ‘missionary’. Still, this tactic plays well into the Cardassian love of conflict and struggle.”_

Julian began to bounce lightly. His cock bobbed with the much more Human movement. After so long without any attention, it had jerked a bit at his initial ministrations but now he had it firmly in hand and was pumping with a clear goal in mind, any teasing or prolonging off the table.

It was an utterly shameless display. Julian knew from memory that it had been a little dry by that point but he hadn’t cared. He wasn’t about to slow down enough to gather some more from his nearest source and risk being upturned from his position. Truly, it just felt good to soothe his aching erection. Garak’s eyes zeroed in on the movement, straining to hold his head up to watch as he took pleasure from his body.

Julian was close. Both Julians were close, that is. Watching from his little guest cabin on a spaceship a trillion and more miles away from his lover, the doctor did his best to follow along with the video, pumping the toy in and out of himself in time with it. He wondered absently if Garak was doing the same thing, using his strange Cardassian sex toy that seemed a combination of a dildo and a fleshlight and that Garak claimed was insulting to have compared to either, watching some other memory of theirs caught in time.

His recorded image moved with increasing fervor, more erratic with each passing second. He was close, so very close. And then his face twisted into one of release and it was all over. A guttural cry clawed its way out of his throat, and his cock twitched and jerked and leaked a flood of semen onto Garak’s belly. He continued to bounce lightly, riding out the waves all the while streams of ejaculate began to track along paths made by ridges and scales, following the slope downwards towards Garak’s chest.

Julian gave a moment of pause to breathe and then he took up that slow undulating sway. His sphincter muscles clamped down hard around Garak’s prUt and the Cardassian dropped his head back, letting out a hiss.

So close to that precipice, Julian watched the scene unfold. Himself, satisfied and in charge and Garak, in limp euphoria, held in his mercy. And then just as that first rivulet of semen reached a neckridge and began to pool in the divets there, he found it. Julian climaxed onto his own belly, the stress of travel and being far from home, leaving him for a blissful fatigue. His brain felt like mush as he watched Garak orgasm very soon afterwards and then the drip of fluid that followed his own dismount.

Soon the pair was cuddling up together, Garak pressing their faces together gently and Julian using a sheet to wipe off the mess while Garak sent glares. He ignored the last bits of narration, talking about post coital rituals and giving parting words before the recording ended.

It was, Julian thought as he often did of his endeavors, a work of genius. He gently pulled the toy out of himself, thinking all the while about just how perfectly infuriated Garak would be. And hopefully, impressed.

Julian had made a point to include all the odd tidbits he had gleaned about Cardassian sexuality, most of which he was sure Garak wasn’t quite aware he knew. One could learn a surprising amount from poorly translated novels, recovered computer data, and interviews with those who spend a lot of time with the Cardassians.

Julian went to go wash up, taking the dildo with him to run through the sonic shower. Within the next few hours, they’d be arriving at Tholius and he wanted a nap before he would need to gather his things and get his research in order. 

It was going to be a long several weeks.

* * *

Julian pulled himself off his Cardassian and plopped down beside him, closing his eyes. _Don’t fall asleep, Don’t fall asleep,_ he told himself as a sudden drowsiness overtook him. The very least he could do was stay up a little while to cuddle and talk with his lover after several days spent primarily working in the infirmary.

A jalopy of a Ferengi transport, filled with passengers to well over its capacity, had come in with an environmental control system on the fritz. Air wasn’t being cycled through the normal ventilation filters and as a result, temperatures, humidity, uninhabitable gases had built up to dangerous levels.

Subsequently, the infirmary had been overworked and understaffed to the point of having extra medical professionals brought in from Bajor as they tried to treat the influx of patients. The vast majority recovered within a couple days time and now only a few dire cases, or those waiting in stasis for obscure treatments to arrive, remained.

But really, the past six months since Julian had arrived home from the medical conference had been hectic for them both. Oh, his homecoming and the couple weeks following it had been splendid for sure. They had a wild bout of sex upon their reunion and another after Julian had proudly presented his video. He was reasonably certain that he had impressed Garak with his knowledge of Cardassian anatomy and the cultural norms around it, even if feedback had mostly been rather mocking about Julian having managed to pick up on the most basic of Cardassian anatomy and cultural cues.

But then came the Festival. Every couple thousand years or so, the planets of the Bajoran system came as close to aligning as was possible with their orbits, a range of 10 degrees, and huge week long festival was held. The traditional garments worn were of a unique design, similar to the everyday wear of a 100,000 years ago. As a result, anyone who planned on attending needed a custom outfit of the likes that no one had worn in more than a thousand years. 

Cue a hyperbolic growth of orders that Garak had the distinct pleasure of trying to interpret based on ancient templates. Along with, of course, the specific unique flairs and sizing for each customer. It had been a frustrating time as they slowly spent less and less time together over the course of four months. 

The actual Festival was a fantastical affair. Exactly what one would expect to mark such a rare occurrence. Garak had stayed out socializing and taking compliments for his work for about half an hour before calling it a day and hiding in their quarters.

And still during the entire span of time, Julian had been inundated with major medical emergencies. Some on station. Some off station. All consuming time and energy. Now, he just wanted to relax with his partner and then maybe go for a round two in a little while to make up for lost time.

Julian forced his eyes open. He must’ve taken a micronap as Garak was suddenly reentering the room with a glass of Rokassa juice in hand. Why he always needed a cup of that foul smelling liquid after intercourse, Julian would never know. Maybe it was some Cardassian equivalent to the ancient human precedent of smoking after sex. Regardless, it seemed to him that the man had been right next to him just a second ago.

A chirp sounded from his padd and Garak picked it up off the floor where it had been knocked during their earlier tussle. Settling down, the padd was handed over and Garak took a sip before flicking on a heatlamp.

There was a message from the Exobiology Institute. That was unexpected. But maybe they wanted him to serve as a recruiter again after his success last time. They had even sent him a message thanking him for his contributions.

Julian clicked the message open and did his best to ignore the scent wafting from Garak’s cup.

_To Doctor Julian S. Bashir:_

_We are sorry to say that as of Stardate 49921.6, our servers containing the medical and study records of research participants were compromised. You are being contacted because analysis shows you are likely at risk for having had this personal information stolen. The following materials and data types in our possession have been identified as vulnerable:_

This wasn’t the first time Julian had received one of these messages. It wasn’t even the third. The Xenobiology Institute was always being hacked by one group or another, looking for new exotic material to sell or share. It was one of those things that people sending in information were generally made aware of at the start of and accepted as consequence. It was also why they had such a hard time finding participants.

There had once even been a study conducted that found the majority of hack attempts (though not necessarily successes) were by Starfleet Security and Intelligence cadets. It had been some sort of hazing ritual for a time. The number of system attacks had gone down significantly after the Academy doubled down on consequences for students found to be attempting to access private networks.

Julian scanned through the list absently. He hadn’t participated in any studies since before he came to Deep Space Nine, so it was all the same fair to him. He hoped who ever was out there watching his videos and looking at his photos were enjoying them. 

_Study: Human and Aaamazzarite  
Holo-videos: 2  
Holo-images: 30  
Research notes_

_Study: Human and Betazoid  
Holo-videos: 1  
Holo-images: 38  
Research notes_

_Study: Human and Caitian  
Holo-videos: 4  
Holo-images: 22  
Research notes_

_Study: Human and Denobulan  
Holo-videos: 3  
Holo-images: 18  
Research notes_

_Study: Human and Krakenite  
Holo-videos: 11  
Holo-images: 69  
Research notes_

_Study: Human and Tellarite  
Holo-videos: 5  
Holo-images: 40  
Research notes_

_Miscellaneous: Human and Cardassian  
Holo-videos: 1_

_Medical Exam: Preparticipatory physical_  
_Images: 110_  
_Doctor’s notes_

_Please report any indications of your data’s misuse to Federation Security. If you would like to make a claim for reparations, please contact our help line. We apologize for any inconveniences or damages._

Just as he was about to click the delete button, something caught his eye. There was a new line in his list of sexual exploits that he had never seen before. 

Well, that was odd. Julian had only ever slept with one Cardassian before and it certainly wasn’t during his academy days. Well to be fair, there had been some pretty crazy nights with the other med students, (there were some stories from medical school that even he wouldn’t tell), but Julian was sure there weren’t any Cardassians there. Hell, he was surprised that the Institute had any data on Cardassians at all, they were such an elusive species. Maybe something had gotten mixed up. Or maybe…something very horrible thing had happened. 

Julian felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Oh. _Oh no._

His mind went back over the last several weeks at warp speed. Sure, he was only being informed of the leak now but that didn’t mean it hadn’t actually occurred much earlier. It was standard for the Institute’s overworked and understaffed network security team to take a while to notice inconsistencies on their system and realize what they meant. 

And it was within the last few weeks that a statistically significant number of strange things had begun to occur. Not the usual oddities that tended to plague the station, but things in his and Garak’s personal lives worth particular note.

On Julian’s side, he had been propositioned several times now for threeways with ‘the Cardassian’ by utter strangers apparently visiting the station. He had been flattered by the attention and a bit confused how these strangers knew who his partner was, but knew Garak would never agree and quietly turned them down

Moreover, one of O’Brien’s night owls had congratulated him with a ‘Nice on hitting that’ and a high five late one evening on his way back from an emergency surgery. To be fair, the nightshifters seemed to live in their own little world, cut off from the usual station circles, so it was totally possible the engineer hadn’t known about them till recently or even was referencing some lay Julian had made three years back but still it was...odd.

And then there was the Taliesian. He had stopped by the infirmary a couple days before and announced himself an ‘amateur xenobiologist’, which Julian knew from personal experience was more code for ‘fledgling xenophiliac’, but the doctor had humored him. 

The alien had asked questions about a number of species, many lines of inquiry unsurprisingly seeming to linger on the procreative, but then he had asked about Cardassians. And the queries didn’t seem to stop. What’s more, the implied background knowledge that some of his questions posed was surprising, astounding even for the secretive species. 

Really, Julian should have known then. Sure he was likely the Federation doctor with the most firsthand experience when it came to a number of Gamma Quadrant and non-Federation species but well, what Taliesian comes to him of all people to ask about the chemical changes in Cardassian scent glands that indicate ill health or arousal? 

And how could he forget poor Garak’s side of things? Just over a week ago, Garak had finished up in his shop when a drunk Bajoran passing by on his way out of Quark’s had given a wolf whistle and exclaimed, “Nice ass, Cardie!” before subsequently slapping the said nice ass.

The Bajoran had ended up with a dislocated shoulder and seventeen breaks in his arm and shoulder for it. Julian had been on call that evening but had to pass over the incident to another doctor. Conflicts of interest and all that. But really, the man had gotten quite what he deserved.

That incident could’ve been a strange unrelated event. No Bajoran, drunk or not, had ever been bold enough to act that way around Garak before. But the thing was, he was getting a lot of that kind of attention recently. Leering looks from people who had mostly only glared and jostled shoulders with him before. The tailor had even confessed once to being concerned that there was some poorly thought out but elaborate and large scale plot against him.

Not to mention the admirers. No, Julian definitely wasn’t the only one fending off offers. Garak had told him of the many handsome young alien men and women that had propositioned him with glee and an exaggeration that would’ve made Julian disbelieve they had ever happened at all if not for his own recent experiences.

But if their video had accidentally made its way into the care of the Xenobiology Institute and then been released into the hands of who knows who, then that would imply that it had been spread to an awfully large number of people in quite the short number of time. Which could only mean one thing. An _Oh No _bigger than any of his previous.__

____

____

Julian typed in the site name as casually as he could, trying not to glance over at Garak in any way that could be interpreted as suspicious. The page loaded and a long, almost pained sounding feminine moan suddenly came from the padd. Julian hit the mute button as fast as he could. Damned autoplays! 

Garak didn’t flinch. Simpy finished his sip of juice and set the mug to the side. Didn’t even look up from his padd. “Dear.” 

“Yes, Elim?” 

“What was that?” 

“Oh, someone just sent me one of those screamer pranks.” 

“I see.” 

Clearly Garak didn’t believe him. It was probably obvious the sort of material Julian was looking at right now but for whatever reason he had decided to let it be. And thank goodness. 

A second passed and then he went back to the site. A stylized logo sat proudly at the top. _XXXenoHub._

Gods, how long had it been? Over a year at least. With the Dominion threat and then everything else going on, he really hadn’t had time to check up on his account. His message box was overflowing. 

Despite what many (most) would assume, Julian’s primary reason for frequenting this site was not to get his rocks off, thank you. He did sometimes, and quite often during certain times in his life, peruse the site’s offerings of course. Even posted a few videos here and there. But the real draw was keeping in contact with his old friends from the Club. And apparently they had a lot to say. 

He was about to hit the messaging tab when he saw it. Below the top promoted video, under trending, there was Garak’s face over his shoulder, his own ass on display with fingers shoved up it, and that damned smile frozen on Garak’s face. The title screamed out at him: _Want to Fuck a Cardassian??? How to take Big Cardie Dick up the ass like a good little slut: a sexumentary_ 😏😏👀👀🍆💦🍑💯😘 

And there it was. Proof that he was indeed living in the darkest possible universe. 

His pulse skyrocketed. It thudded hard like two small stones lodged into either side of his throat. 

_Don’t react,_ he told himself. _Don’t let Garak know yet. Learn what you can and analyze the situation first._

Julian didn’t dare click on it. Just noted the uploader and date quietly, a certain ‘D0ubleTr0ubleLuvr47’ on stardate 49920.7, and moved onto his messages. 

He scrolled through them, a mounting horror growing. Almost all were from after the video’s upload and were either messages of congratulations on introducing a new species to the site’s catalog or expressing concern that it was posted on an account known for uploading others’ content without permission. 

One notable message from Slock even offered Garak and him a place in a future episode of his educational series about advice and how to’s for multispecies pairings. (Slock had dropped out of Starfleet after being politely asked to either resign or stop when he became too recognizable from his hobby.) 

It kind of heartwarming actually, the number of people that were concerned for his privacy or happy for him. (Even if that happiness was more for him banging a reclusive species and not his relationship.) It was nice to know that people still cared. 

Still, there was the issue of breaking it to Garak. No matter what he did, it wouldn’t go well. If he tried acting especially nice or did something out of the ordinary for him, the former spy would be suspicious and likely a bit offended that Julian had tried buttering him up for the bad news. 

Should he tell him after Garak came home, well, there was no telling what type of day the tailor had already had. He was very good at hiding such things and not fond of talking about when a day’s events truly bothered him. Did Julian really want to chance being the straw that broke the camel’s back? 

Mornings were out of the question. Garak may come from a crepuscular species, naturally inclined to be up and about at dawn and dusk but somehow he was _not_ a morning person. Julian had a theory that it had to do with him living by the Federation’s time cycles but well, that was a bit off focus. Regardless, it was sure to ruin the man’s day completely and Garak would spend his entire day at the shop paranoid and off kilter. 

No, it was best to do it right away. Share the information immediately when Garak was still in his pleasant postcoital mood, couldn’t accuse him of any brown-nosing, and didn’t have to work anytime soon. There was just the actual task of doing it. 

Julian took in a breath. 

And then let it out. 

Okay. Alright. Here he went. He was doing it. 

“Elim?” 

“Hmm?” 

“Do you remember that trip to Tholius for the conference I took a few months back?” 

**Author's Note:**

> Starting this, I did Not realize just how difficult keeping track of three separate characters was going to be, not to mention differentiating between two Julians. There’s a lot going at times so please let me know if any parts get confusing or there’s any continuity issues. 
> 
> I can be found on tumblr at [the-last-dillards](https://the-last-dillards.tumblr.com/). Kudos and comments are joy to you and me both! ;)
> 
> Based on the prompt from BonusMeme: Something like a cross-cultural mating habits holo-documentary that Julian makes. He's assigned to do a research paper on that topic and Garak is uncomfortable with the idea so to tease him, Julian makes the holo-doc and does a nature documentary voice over but it's just as a joke, he's not actually planning to show anyone. Bonus points if it somehow gets leaked to the public. ;)


End file.
